ACC operational again after 166-day void as new commission takes charge
The new Chairman, retired Supreme Court judge Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, alongside newly appointed Commissioners Dr Jahangir Alam and Dr Sazzat Hossain Bhuiyan, formally assumed their duties at the ACC headquarters on 19 August
The eighth Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has officially commenced its formal activities, ending nearly five and a half months of institutional stagnation that left Bangladesh's anti-graft watchdog without top leadership.
The new Chairman, retired Supreme Court judge Justice AKM Asaduzzaman, alongside newly appointed Commissioners Dr Jahangir Alam and Dr Sazzat Hossain Bhuiyan, formally assumed their duties at the ACC headquarters this morning (19 August).
Their arrival at the ACC head office followed a formal takeover of responsibilities at the Cabinet Division yesterday (18 August), marking the official end of a 166-day leadership vacuum that had paralysed key functions of the commission.
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The prolonged absence of a top decision-making body since 3 March had raised serious concerns among stakeholders regarding the progress of regular anti-corruption activities, particularly high-profile inquiries and ongoing investigations.
With the new leadership now in place, attention has shifted to how swiftly the commission can clear the accumulated backlog and restore momentum to its anti-graft operations.
The government reconstituted the commission under Section 6(1) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004, following a gazette notification issued by the Cabinet Division by order of the president on 17 August.
Under the provisions of the notification, Chairman Justice AKM Asaduzzaman will receive the salary, allowances, status, and benefits equivalent to a judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, while Commissioners Dr Jahangir Alam and Dr Sazzat Hossain Bhuiyan will enjoy status and benefits equivalent to High Court Division judges.
When the vacuum began
The leadership vacuum began on 3 March, when former ACC chairman Mohammad Abdul Momen and former commissioners Mia Mohammad Ali Akbar Azizi and Brigadier General (retd) Hafiz Ahsan Farid submitted their resignations to the cabinet secretary.
Stating that there was no specific reason behind the resignation, Momen said they had taken the decision in the public interest and in respect of the expectations of the newly elected government.
"A newly elected government has certain expectations, and to fulfil those expectations the government may appoint a more competent commission than us. I believe this will be good for the ACC as well as beneficial for the state."
Responding to journalists' questions about whether the ACC had sufficient "teeth" and about its past activities, the chairman said it was for the people to judge how effective the commission had been during its tenure.
Following the acceptance of their resignations by the president, the government initiated the selection process under the ACC Act, forming a selection committee on 22 June to shortlist qualified candidates.
Under the legal framework, the president appoints full-time commissioners for a fixed term based on the selection committee's recommendations, resolving the uncertainty that shadowed the autonomous institution.
